Skirmish

Helena leaned against the side of the warehouse, looking up at the lights gleaming in the cavern above.  They were mineral deposits, but the lights of the city below made them shine like stars.  Helena wondered if someone had added them, or if they were naturally occurring.  Probably natural.  The pattern was too random for humans.  She’d started to organize them into constellations, drawing from the ancient poems for good naming candidates.

It was pretty much the only thing she could do.  Casting powerful spells would announce her presence, and the alley itself was dull.  There wasn’t even a laundry line in this one.  She was half tempted to steal a bucket and a ladder, just to give the street some character.

“Why are we planning to ambush him here?”  Helena asked.  “If he’s smart he’ll teleport himself along with the goods.  He’s obviously rich enough to afford losing whatever items he’s using as an anchor.  If we were near the warehouse I might be able to track his teleport.”

“A gamble.  Chances are he’ll take a merry stroll to the Triads’ new warehouse instead of teleporting himself.  He’ll be expecting us to get you to track him like a good specialist.”  He gave her a look.  “Which I’m guessing you can’t do, else you would have suggested that plan yourself.”

The Inspector was sadly correct.  Whatever spells Zhou was using to scrub his magical signature would be good enough to block her tracking.  “Fine.  But why here, in the most boring alley near the waterfront?”

“Because this is the only alley without any people in it,” Kilduff muttered.  “If he waltzes back down the main streets we’ll have witnesses.  If he’s trying to be sneaky he’ll come through here.”

Helena gave the man a sidelong look.  “Why would he care about witnesses?  We have no proof he’s committed any serious crimes.”

Kilduff sighed.  “Because he’s a criminal lass.  And a young one.  A guilty man acts guilty.  Even if they’ve got some damned lawyer to clean up after them.  They don’t calm down and get dangerous until after they get surprised a few times.”

That didn’t make much sense to Helena.  Still Kilduff was the expert on criminals.  They’d learn soon enough if he was right.

She’d started to drift off a little when the feel of magic passing through a nearby crossroad cut through the fog in her mind.  It was subdued magic.  Someone was trying very hard to suppress their wards and enhancements.  But the magician was too powerful to conceal themselves completely.  And Helena served the goddess of crossroads.  It gave her an edge other magicians had a hard time combating.

She signaled Inspector Kilduff with a quick hand wave, and the man nodded, loosening his club.  Helena pressed herself to the wall, suppressing her own power.  She wasn’t good at stealth, but she’d take any advantage she could get.

Not that she planned to stay hidden long.

The man who walked into the alley wore Qing era clothing in simple black, but his hair was short instead of in the traditional queue.  He carried no rings, bracelets, or other obvious spell storing items.  Just a pouch and whatever was in his sleeves.  To a casual observer he probably looked like a simple dock worker.  Across the way Kilduff shifted uncomfortably.  The policeman had probably thought the same thing.

Helena wasn’t a casual observer.  He might not have looked as flashy as the stories said, but he had the power and confidence of a magician.  Not to mention the passive wards every mage had to keep themselves from being killed by a stupid accident.  She stepped out of her cubbyhole and moved to block the alleyway.  “Hello, Living Dragon.  I got your message.  And I have a reply for you.”

Long Zhou Di’s eyes snapped open.  “Curse Gunner!”  It seemed she’d been recognized as well.  How nice.  Now to teach him why she’d earned her name.

The Chinese mage snapped his hand forward and a spell scroll dropped from his sleeve.  “Water Dragon’s Wrath!” he called out to activate the spell.

Helena pulled out her own scroll.  She’d expected water from the man, and she’d come prepared.  “Hephaestus’s Rebuke!”

Complex magical circles flared between both of them.  His was a cold blue, Chinese formulas and diagrams surrounded by two dragons chasing each other.  Refined characters fit for a textbook.  Hers was a deep red black, secret prayers in the first writing of Thebes and the symbols of the gods intertwined in smeared brushstrokes.  Ancient curses written in blood.

A dragon made out of water burst from Zhou’s outstretched finger, weaving through the alley like it was alive.  It opened its jaws with a mighty roar, ready to crush her.

Before it could bite down the air before her darkened.  A metallic crash louder than thunder rolled through the alley.  Flames burst out of the darkness and the dragon exploded into a burst of steam that slowly drifted into the air.

As the steam cleared away Helena traced another attack rune, while Zhou drew a sword from the air.  He gave her a slight nod.  “You are as dangerous as your reputation.”

“Likewise,” Helena replied.  “But, Living Dragon?  Really?  If you were going to be so uncouth as to fight over a title you could have picked something original.”

“It has sentimental value.”  Zhou leveled his blade.  “However I am in something of a hurry, so I fear I must dispose of you without explaining.”

“So, moving up from assault to attempted murder, eh?” Officer Kilduff stepped out of the shadows between them, club in hand.  “I was going to call you in for questioning about the incident at the hotel, but I see we can skip straight to the charges and handle the rest later.  You’re under arrest.  Put that sword down, and come along quietly would you?”

Zhou’s eyes widened as he saw Helena’s trap.  He lowered the sword for a second, but he had to know there was no escaping what he’d done.  A policeman had seen him attack a woman without provocation.

He raised his blade again.  “I see I will have to make you both disappear.”

Helena replied by finishing her spell.  “Rain of Spears.”

A circle of bloody runes formed in the air above Zhou.  The circle pulsed, sending a shower of crimson javelins falling from the sky, as if a full phalanx had thrown their spears.  Zhou dashed out from under the deadly rain, sword out.

Kilduff moved to block the other magician.  The Inspector slapped the first thrust away, but Zhou followed up with a low kick that caught the officer in the thigh.  Kilduff grunted and used the impact to give power to his own swing.  Zhou leaned back to dodge, and their fight began in earnest.

As the two battled Helena looked for an opening for a spell.  But no matter how she moved Zhou shifted to keep Kilduff as a shield.  It was a good strategy, made better by the constraints of the alley and the fact that Kilduff moved as little as possible.  That might have given the policeman better defense, but it meant Zhou could react to Helena.  Still it was a stalemate.

Perhaps sensing physical might alone wouldn’t work, Zhou snapped his fingers.  Flame burst between the two men then arced towards Kilduff.

“None of that devilry,” Kilduff snapped and a soft white glow snuffed the flames.  It seemed Kilduff’s faith could stop quick spells.  But there was no way Kilduff could keep that up.  Helena had to find a way to strike at Zhou without hitting the policeman.

Helena reached into her pouch for a loadstone.  The spell she was crafting was complex but she had the time to get it right.  A bullet that would seek its target, infused with a curse.  It was her specialty, the complicated technique that earned her the title of Curse Gunner.  As the spell came together she summoned the pain and fear she’d felt yesterday.  The wave of hatred that washed through her settled into her left hand, and infused the electric bullet with a dark light.  Make him suffer.

A bolt of concentrated lightning flew through the air, then slammed into the wall behind Zhou.  The bullet shattered and the shrapnel arced back, twisting its path to strike the magician.

Zhou tensed.  He must have sensed the dark energy coming from behind him.  Kilduff took that moment to strike, and Zhou dodged by doing a flip right over the policeman.

Right in front of her.

Zhou rushed at her, sword leading the way.  She let raw power flood through her body and stepped towards the blow.  Zhou’s eyes widened in surprise as she caught the flat of his blade with her wrist.  She let her left hand trace down the sword straight towards his face with all the magical power she could muster.

Zhou stopped in the air then completely changed his momentum, using flight to regain the advantage.  His knee slammed into her chest, shoving her aside.

She moved with the blow, spinning off past him.  Now that she was on the other side she lobbed off a bleeding curse.  Four red darts flew from her hand towards her enemy.

With a mighty shout he slammed his hand into the ground.  A gust of green wind sent Helena’s curses into the dirt while Zhou rocketed into the sky.  Helena prepared another attack, but the man was gone behind the other warehouses in an instant.

“Bloody bastard got away,” Kilduff snarled.  The tall man hooked his club back on his belt before looming over Helena.  “And you girl!  What was that nonsense back there!  You nearly hit me with that devilry of yours!”

“It didn’t have the range to hit you,” Helena said.  She grimaced and bowed her head in apology.  “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you.  I didn’t expect him to jump.”

Kilduff backed off a bit.  “Ah, well that can happen in a fight.”  He pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a certain vindictiveness.  “And he made a fool out of me as well.  I should have been expecting that jump.  Those flashy sword types always use it.”

The Inspector took a deep drag and let it out slowly.  “All that work and the best we have is formal charges.  Damn.”

“Not just that,” Helena replied, holding up a small jade figurine of a crane.  “We got this as well.”

“What?”  Kilduff stared at the figurine.  “How’d you get that?  Don’t tell me he somehow dropped the damn thing in all that dancing about?!”

Helena laughed.  “Of course not.  I picked his pocket.”

Her grin grew as Kilduff stared at her.  “I told you.  He’s known for stabbing other magicians.  He’d assume a tiny woman like me would be easy prey, especially since I’m a Hellenic witch.  Which means he was certain to attack me physically.  And since his outfit has sleeve pockets well…”

Kilduff shook his head in amazement.  “Aren’t you a tricksy girl.  Well far be it for me to complain about a bit of sleight of hand when it comes to catching a murderer.  Come on, let’s get back to the captain and start planning a real arrest.”